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The Maltese Falcon Trivia Quiz

A quiz on the original 1930 novel by Dashiell Hammett that is a cornerstone of the hard-boiled crime novel.

A multiple-choice quiz by tjoebigham. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
tjoebigham

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
73,547

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
20

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
13 / 20

Plays
1149

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 158 (6/20), Guest 165 (12/20), Guest 172 (20/20).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 20

1. How is Sam Spade described in the novel? Hint

an undertaker

a bull dozer

a blond satan

a blond vulture

NEXT>

Question 2 of 20

2. How many murder victims are there? Hint

four

three

two

five

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Question 3 of 20

3. Who are the police detectives? Hint

Carella and Meyer

Polhaus and Dundy

Gilliat and Launder

Mack and Meyer

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Question 4 of 20

4. Who is Spade's secretary? Hint

Diana Prince

Effie Perrine

Velda Wakeman

Margo Lane

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Question 5 of 20

5. Who is Spade's lawyer? Hint

Perry Mason

Sid Wise

Clarence Darrow

Johnny Cochran

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Question 6 of 20

6. How many times does Miles' widow Iva appear? Hint

six

two

three

four

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Question 7 of 20

7. What was the name of Brigid's 'sister'? Hint

Margaret

Sally

Corinne

Deidre

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Question 8 of 20

8. What one of these things does Joel Cairo NOT wear? Hint

monocle

jewelry

spats

hat

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Question 9 of 20

9. What hotel did Spade meet 'gunsel' Wilmer at? Hint

Waldorf

Belvedere

Coronado

Riviera

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Question 10 of 20

10. What did Gutman have in the book that he didn't have in the film? Hint

a daughter

a lisp

a son

a limp

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Question 11 of 20

11. What organization made the Falcon? Hint

Odd Felows

Knights Templar

Knights of Columbus

Elks

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Question 12 of 20

12. Who was the Russian the black bird was stolen from? Hint

Kemidov

Goncharov

Borodin

Zamyatin

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Question 13 of 20

13. What happened on Spade's second meeting with Gutman? Hint

Spade was killed

Spade got drugged

Spade killed Gutman

Spade killed Wilmer

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Question 14 of 20

14. What was the name of the ship set afire? Hint

Patna

La Paloma

Mary Deare

Demeter

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Question 15 of 20

15. Who did Spade pick as his fall guy, who didn't kill Archer? Hint

Gutman

Cairo

Wilmer

Brigid

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Question 16 of 20

16. When Spade found a bill missing in his payment from Gutman, what did he make Bridgid do? Hint

confess

strip

cry

kill herself

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Question 17 of 20

17. What did the Falcon turn out to be made of? Hint

uranium

iron

lead

molybdenum

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Question 18 of 20

18. Who killed Miles? Hint

Brigid

Wilmer

Cairo

Iva

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Question 19 of 20

19. True or false: all the killings in the book are done offstage.

Answer: (One Word)

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Question 20 of 20

20. True or false: Spade only appeared in the novel.

Answer: (One Word)

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Most Recent Scores

Today : Guest 158: 6/20
Today : Guest 165: 12/20
Apr 14 2024 : Guest 172: 20/20
Apr 11 2024 : Guest 172: 14/20
Apr 10 2024 : Guest 75: 10/20
Mar 22 2024 : Guest 76: 11/20
Mar 05 2024 : Guest 165: 7/20
Feb 29 2024 : Guest 174: 14/20
Feb 25 2024 : Guest 209: 14/20

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. How is Sam Spade described in the novel?

Answer: a blond satan

Hammett described Spade's face as having a series of V's that made him look {satanic;} very far from Bogart's face in the classic 1941 movie!

2. How many murder victims are there?

Answer: four

Spade's partner Miles Archer, Floyd Thursby, Captain Jacobi and Caspar Gutman.

3. Who are the police detectives?

Answer: Polhaus and Dundy

The official nemeses of Spade (though Polhaus is more sympathetic to the private dick), they were played by Barton MacLaine and Ward Bond.

4. Who is Spade's secretary?

Answer: Effie Perrine

Effie was the first in a long line of secretaries in the hard-boiled genre, of which Mike Hammer's Velda was a part. Lee Patrick played her.

5. Who is Spade's lawyer?

Answer: Sid Wise

Mason was created long after 'Falcon' was published!

6. How many times does Miles' widow Iva appear?

Answer: three

Two times in Spade's office and once outside Brigid's apartment. Gladys George played her in the Huston film.

7. What was the name of Brigid's 'sister'?

Answer: Corinne

Brigid said her 'sister' was threatened by Thursby so that one of the detectives would get rid of him.

8. What one of these things does Joel Cairo NOT wear?

Answer: monocle

Peter Lorre, who debuted in Fritz Lang's 'M', made an indelible impression as Cairo.

9. What hotel did Spade meet 'gunsel' Wilmer at?

Answer: Belvedere

'Gunsel' is slang for a young homosexual, as well as a gunman.
Hammett sneaked in the trio's gayness at a time in American history when homosexulity was hardly mentioned in society.

10. What did Gutman have in the book that he didn't have in the film?

Answer: a daughter

In the book Gutman's daughter Rhea has only one scene with {Spade;} Huson wisely dropped her in the movie.

11. What organization made the Falcon?

Answer: Knights Templar

Based on Malta, the Knights made the Falcon as tribute to King Charles V of Spain, when pirates seized it.

12. Who was the Russian the black bird was stolen from?

Answer: Kemidov

Borodin is the famed composer-chemist, the other two famous authors.

13. What happened on Spade's second meeting with Gutman?

Answer: Spade got drugged

Gutman had Spade's drink drugged to keep him out of the way while he and his cronies searched for the Falcon.

14. What was the name of the ship set afire?

Answer: La Paloma

The 'La Paloma's' captain Jacobi was shot as his ship was torched but got the Falcon to Spade's office before he died. Huston's actor father Walter played Jacobi.

15. Who did Spade pick as his fall guy, who didn't kill Archer?

Answer: Wilmer

Spade needed a patsy to get the police off his back for the murders of Thursby and Jacobi, which Wilmer did. He killed Gutman at the end for his agreeing to Spade's offer.

16. When Spade found a bill missing in his payment from Gutman, what did he make Bridgid do?

Answer: strip

In a risque scene that couldn't make it into the 1941 film, Spade forces Bridgid to strip in his bathroom to make sure she isn't hiding the missing bill. Of course Gutman took it.

17. What did the Falcon turn out to be made of?

Answer: lead

The scene of Sidney Greenstreet's Gutman discovering the false Falcon is one of the all-time great film scenes.

18. Who killed Miles?

Answer: Brigid

And of course Spade 'sent her over' for her crime, which she did to frame Thursby.

19. True or false: all the killings in the book are done offstage.

Answer: true

Only Archer's murder is shown in the film.

20. True or false: Spade only appeared in the novel.

Answer: false

Hammett also wrote three short stories about Spade.

Source: Author tjoebigham

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